Magento to be acquired by eBay

Yes, you can read details at eBay Agrees to Acquire Magento.

Tags: ebay, ecommerce, Magento

Rant: Privacy, Tracking, and the Internet

I just got an email alert from WSJ.com saying:

The largest U.S. websites are installing new and intrusive consumer-tracking technologies on the computers of people visiting their sites—in some cases, more than 100 tracking tools at a time—a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.

The tracking files represent the leading edge of a lightly regulated, emerging industry of data-gatherers who are in effect establishing a new business model for the Internet: one based on intensive surveillance of people to sell data about, and predictions of, their interests and activities, in real time.

This impacts me directly, as I frequently work on large e-Commerce sites and have seen first hand the use of tracking technology.

Tracking technology has been around for a long time.  Both on the internet and off.  When you walk into a store, a well trained sales rep should be watching you, gauging your interest, seeing what you look at, and overall deciding the best way to approach you for a sale.  This is not aggressive, this is their job.  This is what websites do.

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Tags: ecommerce, George LeMieux, privacy, track, tracking, wsj